Squeeze on middle-class university places thanks to SNP 'social engineering'

Middle-class Scottish school leavers face losing out on a university place to
youngsters from poorer backgrounds even if they achieve superior exam
grades, under controversial “social engineering” plans unveiled by the
Education Minister.

Mike Russell is to force universities to give preferential treatment to applicants from poor backgroundsPhoto: PA

Mike Russell published proposals to fine universities if they fail to give preferential treatment to applicants from “low-achieving” schools.

Although admissions offices can continue to take account of a pupil’s exam results, Mr Russell has decreed they are “not perfect” as a criterion for deciding who wins a place.

Instead officials must also consider applicants’ “situation” – namely their wealth and family background – as part of a new SNP strategy to “target” poor areas of Scotland where few school leavers attend university.

But the Conservatives warned that middle-class youngsters will lose out as a university funding crisis means it is unlikely more places will be available to accommodate the extra influx.

The controversial plan was included in a pre-legislative paper published yesterday, which outlined wide-ranging reforms to the higher and further education systems.

Among the other proposals are mergers of regional colleges and universities and changes to their governance to make them more “transparent”.

Mr Russell also plans to protect places for Scottish students by banning universities accepting more youngsters from the rest of the UK, who will pay up to £36,000 for a degree.

However, there was little detail on how he intends to deal with an estimated £268 million funding gap in the sector. Principals have warned that courses will be cut and standards will fall unless the extra money is found.

The paper said legislation will be tabled at Holyrood next year that will include a new legal duty on universities to “widen access to higher education”.

Under a section titled “Targeting”, it said: “Examination grades are a useful indicator of potential but they are not perfect.

“There is evidence that a pupil with a particular set of results from a low-achieving school can achieve better than a pupil with the same set of results from a high-achieving school”.

The paper said Mr Russell is to consider placing a legal duty on universities to “seek out those with the greatest potential who would be identified with reference to their grades and their situation”.

Higher education institutes will have to demonstrate that they are taking account youngsters’ backgrounds for these “contextualised admissions”.

However, they would also receive financial incentives from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to “engage with target schools”. Mr Russell may allow them to “over-recruit” students from less well-off backgrounds.

The minister will also ask the SFC to draw up a written “widening access” contract with universities that will include the threat of “financial penalties” if they fail to meet targets for the recruitment of poor students.

But Liz Smith, Scottish Tory education spokesman, said the radical plan was akin to “social engineering” at the expense of the middle classes.

“It’s completely unacceptable for government to intervene and impose that kind of target on universities. It should be up to the university who they take,” she said.

She added that the minister had “utterly failed” to tackle the main issue facing Scottish higher education, namely the funding gap.

Instead Mr Russell told MSPs that Scottish students will pay no tuition fees and poor youngsters are to receive a guaranteed annual income of £7,000.

The minister has come under pressure over the past week after a series of universities decided to charge English, Welsh and Northern Irish students the maximum annual fee of £9,000 per year from next year.

The total cost of a degree at Edinburgh and St Andrews universities will be £36,000, making them the most expensive places to study anywhere in the UK. According to the paper, this cap will remain in place for the 2013/14 academic year.

However, the National Union of Students have warned that universities will recruit more youngsters from south of the Border to increase their income, thereby squeezing out Scottish students.

Mr Russell has reacted by promising to “legislate to ensure Scottish provision is not eroded by a focus on fee-earning students”.

Although he intends to introduce a fee for EU students, there is no detail of how he will circumvent European law, which strictly prohibits discriminating between them and their Scottish peers.

Mr Russell told MSPs that almost £2 billion a year of taxpayers’ money is allocated to colleges and universities but there is little public scrutiny about how this is spent.

He said he had “particular difficulties” with the complexity and lack of transparency around university governance. In a sign he intends to strip principals of some of their independence, he called for more “democratic accountability”.

This could see elections for university courts with more student representatives. The paper also revealed that research funding is to be focused on a smaller number of universities with a “track record”, such as St Andrews and Edinburgh.